Working Out Part 2: Zumba

Ok pretty much everyone already knows that Zumba is becoming the new popular workout (if not, now you know). This is one of those things that I heard lots about and kind of turned my nose up at it, not wanting to conform to the latest thing especially since it meant dancing which I'm not all that great at, however, I let my prideful self be humbled and gave it a try!

My friend Ashly and I wanted to switch up our workouts so we weren't always in the gym, so we thought we would try Zumba. I found zumba.com and there you can type in where you live and it will bring up tons of Zumba classes being taught on all different days and at different times. We went to one tonight (Tuesday) that a lady teaches at an LDS chapel on 1221 W 500 N. Ashly and I are always trying new things together and this was another fun experience to add to our list. There were lots of people so it didn't seem the focus was on you and basically...we LOVED it! It was a great cardio workout for an hour, lot's of fun, and (my favorite part) FREE! Plus, it was at 9pm-10pm which is after all the kids are in bed so a lot more women are free to go. So what I'm getting at is...you should all give it a try and even join us on Tuesday nights! 

And try not to laugh too hard at the picture of our sweaty and exhausted selves after Zumba. Ashly suggest I blog about our experience and what's a blog post without a picture?!

Family Pictures

Here's just a picture post of our family pictures! I think they turned out really cute, even if Mia didn't really smile in any of them. She was having a very passive morning when we took them. We got our pictures done  at Wadley Farm near Salt Lake. Here is the blog of the girl who took our pictures. http://elliebeanphotography.blogspot.com/ She did a great job for a great price!

Enjoy!

Getting Back in Gear!

As I mentioned in one of my recent posting, I am starting to getting my life a little more organized and get on tops of all the things I have to do. One way that I planned to do this was get myself back into shape and feeling good so I can have more energy throughout the day. I have tried to start cooking more healthier meals and exercising...that's right, after over a year of not working out consistently I have decided that it was time to start. Over the last couple of years I have really come to except my body, even with all the changes that occur after having a baby, but you just can't beat how good you feel after working out and staying healthy (besides the fact of being extremely sore!).

Once again Eric has proven to show how supportive he is by eating the new recipes I am constantly trying that sometimes don't always work out so great and letting me have an hour in the evenings to go to the gym.

As I've been looking for new recipes to try I rediscovered a recipe book we were given for a wedding present for Taste of Home "Guilt Free Cooking". I have come to love this cookbook because not only are the recipes healthy but they include ingredients that I actually have or are easy to buy! One recipe that we made this week that will definitely be a dinner regular in our home were these flavorful Sirloin Veggie Kabobs.

2/3 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons canola oil

4 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion

1  garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

16 fresh baby portobello or large white mushrooms, halved

2 medium red onions, cut into wedges

1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

• In a small bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Pour half into a large resealable plastic bag; add beef cubes. Seal bag and turn to coat. Pour the remaining marinade into another large resealable plastic bag; add the mushrooms, onions and peppers. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate beef and vegetables for up to 4 hours.
• Drain and discard marinade from beef. Drain vegetables, reserving marinade for basting. On eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, alternately thread beef and vegetables.
• Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness, turning and basting frequently with reserved marinade. Yield: 4 servings.

I've also started doing a lot more crockpot meals, since I have schools on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and when I get home I don't feel like doing much except playing with Mia. One recipe that I tried that was extremely easy and delicious was the crockpot chicken recipe. Give it a try! Also, if any of you have good and easy crockpot recipes please send them my way!

You can find the recipe to this extremely easy recipe at http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/05/easiest-dinner-ever.html

Hope this post has inspired you to start eating a little healthier and to be more active. It can be difficult when you have a million things going and especially with kids but it's possible and so worth it! I'm grateful for the examples I have in my life that have inspired me to be healthy and take care of my body.

Girl's Night Out

This girl's night out was very last minute, but much needed and turned out to be very fun! I was able to get some tickets to the General Relief Society Meeting last weekend on sort notice and luckily we were able to make it into a fun night out with my two best friends from high school, Sara and Ashly. Ok so Sara is my sister which we will always be best friends and we all three actually see each other every week for our weekly lunch on campus, but it was still nice to do something different and uplifting.

The Relief Society Broadcast was wonderful and as I'm sure every women who watched it, thought President Uchtdorfs talk was spot on to what we women needed to hear! Just in case you forgot and didn't get the chance to watch it here are the 5 things he told us never to forget in his analogy of the small flowers Forget Me Nots.

1. Forget not to be patient with yourself
2. Forget not the different between an acceptable sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
3. Forget not to be happy NOW!: He gave another great analogy of the golden ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where sometimes we are so focused on finding the golden ticket we forget to enjoy the chocolate bar itself.
4. Forget not the WHY of the Gospel.
5. Forget not that the Lord loves you!!

Every point President Uchtdorf made just really hit home to me and they are all things I needed to be reminded of! Over all, it was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by thousands of women of the church and feeling the strong spirit that was there.

After the broadcast we walked around temple square for a bit and then we went to Olive Garden for dinner and spared no expenses with drinks, an appetizer, salad, soup and breadsticks, never ending pasta bowls and of course, dessert. Let's just say our eyes were a lot bigger then our appetites and it's a good thing we don't eat like that on a regular basis! All in all it was a very fun night out with the girls with lots of laughs and fun. And thanks to my amazing husband to watching Mia so I could go do this!

Mia's Many Faces

Ok so I usually never post so close to each other, but I was playing with Mia last night and she was making so many faces I just had to capture them all! Mia is always talking and making noise even when she is eating and suppose to be going to sleep! What a silly girl!

Enjoy!

Mia trying to sit up by herself.

Weekly Menu and Chocolate Pillows

Since having Mia, I'm starting to actually realize how much a wife and mother has to do and it has really made me appreciate even more all the things my mother does each day...and let me tell you it's hard work. From getting up in the morning, taking care of Mia, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, cooking meals, budgeting, laundry, going to school, homework, and juggling everyone's schedule, some nights I go to bed exhausted. With having so much to do I've been looking for more effective ways to get everything done and  one big thing I've been trying to do is not spend so much time on my computer. (I'm making an exception for this quick blog update!) Another thing that I've found has helped me out on both my budget and each night easier when I have to decide what to make for dinner is creating a weekly menu.

I don't know about you, but I sometimes dread thinking about what to make for dinner each night. I've made a plan that each Monday I decide the meals I'm going to make for that week and then create a shopping list of what I need. By doing this, on the days I'm tired and don't want to decide what to make for dinner I'll already know and I also end up spending less at the store because I am not just getting random things that I later have to figure out what I can make with the things I have, which can sometime be difficult. Plus, it's a free and super easy way to add some color to your kitchen counter!

As of other updates, we've had a lot going on and one of which was making my Grandma Bohn's Chocolate pillows with my Uncle Pat and cousin Marci. We had a lot of fun trying to recreate what we all grew up loving as one of our favorite treats when going to Grandma's house and after some trial and error, we finally made cookies which would definitely have had Grandma's blessing.

We've also stayed busy by visiting family and taking Mia on her first camping trip (sorry, I was lazy and managed not to get any pictures of Mia all bundled up), going to football games, playing intramural sports, and watching Mia continue to grow and learn new things. We have now started her on rice cereal which she is still getting use to, but is getting better at eating each day. We are also working on helping Mia learn to sit up on her own. She has gotten to the point where she will sit up by herself for a couple of seconds and hopefully in the next couple of weeks she will get it down where she can do it for a lot longer. Eric and I both continue to find so much joy in our sweet, little girl who is always making us laugh and love her more and more each day. Oh and one more last update, we took family pictures last weekend so hopefully I'll have some to post by the the end of the week!

First try at eating rice cereal!

 One day I was going through her drawers and found these crochets hats. I couldn't help but laugh at some of them and Mia would kind of smile her unsure smile at me wondering why I was laughing.